Our name has changed. But what we do and why we do it hasn’t.

The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) has become Worldwide Cancer Research.
We started 34 years ago with a clear belief that cancer is a global issue; it requires a global perspective and the collaboration and effort of the best scientific minds.
Our funding of fundamental and translational research helps deliver the start of the cancer journey. Without understanding and discoveries at these stages, we would have no new avenues of drug development and diagnostic research further down the line.
But whilst our name has changed, our strategy remains the same; to channel funds directly to the actual research. The donations we receive still go wherever in the world the most promising research is being done.
Over the years we’ve funded over £180 million worth of grants and have made an important contribution to the collective force that has helped double cancer survival rates in the last 40 years.
But whilst cancer research has made a huge difference already, with more targeted treatments and earlier detection methods, there is still a lot to do and more funding is vital.
We have chosen our new identity to help us support this mission and our long term vision of ‘No life cut short by cancer’.

What’s in a name?

We have been AICR for over 30 years. The science community knows us well and as such we have a strong reputation. But there is little or no awareness of our unique position with the general public and it is here that we get our donations that drive our funding abilities.
There is also an upward trend in the number of grant applications we are receiving.
So the need to standout and shout – to engage the public to help through vital donations - is more imperative than ever before. The new name does what it says on the tin. We are the leading charity to fund cancer research worldwide. It puts us in a much better position to communicate clearly our worldwide remit.

What does the new logo mean?

The new logo comprises our name and our corporate icon we affectionately call ‘bubble’.
The six circles represent a global community of scientists, fundraisers and partners linked together by an unflinching commitment to make sure no life is cut short by cancer.
This simple graphic mark is also a symbol of collective and pioneering minds, thoughts and ideas.
But you might see thought bubbles or petri dishes or even the world itself. Our new identity is all these things.
And we have a new strapline: “Whatever it takes, wherever it takes us.”
Our strapline sums up our unwavering and unending commitment to keep searching for answers. It is our rallying call.

How can I help spread the word about Worldwide Cancer Research?

Please tell your friends and family via your social networks or just by good old fashioned word of mouth. To make it easy to share a post on Facebook or send a tweet, we’ve created ready-made messages below you can simply cut ‘n’ paste into your social feeds.
FACEBOOK – AICR has become Worldwide Cancer Research. They provide vital funding to the most promising cancer research projects globally. Please help by liking Worldwide Cancer Research and visitingwww.worldwidecancerresearch.org where you can donate online. Or text RESEARCH to 70004 to donate £5.
TWITTER - AICR has become Worldwide Cancer Research. Please follow us at @WorldwideCancer and visit <ahref="http://www.worldwidecancerresearch.org/">www.worldwidecancerresearch.org. #whateverittakes

Take a selfie for Worldwide Cancer Research

It would be even better if you could accompany your posts with a selfie of you holding our new logo and ‘donate now’ message. Here’s how:
Tell your friends and family about our new name and our vital need for funding. Just click on this link to download an A4 size poster with our new name and logo and print it out; ideally in colour. Capture the moment on your smartphone and upload it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Share it with the messages above and personalize your post if you can.

Our DNA

Our name and logo are a vital part of our new identity but they are only the surface. We are also evolving as an organisation too. Developing and adding new skills and ways of working together whilst remaining agile and streamline.
However we are still resilient, dedicated and pioneering. And importantly have retained our single-minded strategy – to fund the best research wherever that may be and whatever it may take place.

Why did we decide to change our name?

AICR has been hugely successful and over the years we have steadily seen applications from leading scientists rise. The charity landscape has also become more competitive and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fundraise with so many other charities asking for support. The name change and new visual identity are designed to support our increased efforts to raise awareness of the important work we fund.

How will a new logo help us fund more research?

The Association for International Cancer Research is a bit of a mouthful. Research showed people get stuck on the ‘association’ word. Even our own supporters felt our name and logo held us back. In our fast-paced ‘sound-bite’ world we need to be able communicate clearly and quickly.
Worldwide Cancer Research does exactly what it says on the tin. It therefore allows us to get straight to the point and talk about why we believe cancer research should be funded on a worldwide basis and importantly why a donation to Worldwide Cancer Research is the most effective way to help the scientists find the answers.

How much money did we spend on the redesign?

We worked with marketing communication and brand experts to change our name and visual identity. They worked with us as a charity partnership and as a result fees were all at reduced rates.
Their strategic planners spent time understanding our organisation and our activity and worked with us to identify our brand values. Online research was used to test naming options. The actual design fees were small in the world of design - £9,280. We also invested in a new, improved website. A significant investment which had been identified a while before we embarked on our rebrand. We delayed this project to coincide with our rebrand and again to ensure we did not duplicate work and budget. The new website will vastly improve user experience and make donating online easy. We are also lucky in that we had no shops to re-brand, no support services and no satellite offices that would require additional brand or print requirements.
We have been running down our publication stocks and only printing small numbers of leaflets when necessary in anticipation of the new identity. This has helped limit any wastage and saved on unnecessary costs.
For a complete brand review this is a very modest cost. But we expect it to have a much bigger impact and return on investment. By communicating more clearly we will improve our ability to fundraise and encourage more people to donate, thereby bringing in more funds to enable us to keep on funding worldwide cancer research.

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